QFTBOC: Enoch 'Walked with God' :: By Mark A. Becker

Introduction

One of the things I really enjoy doing with the ministry the Lord has blessed me with is answering questions of believers and unbelievers alike. The questions people have never cease to amaze me; most I have never even considered myself.

This QFTBOC (Questions from the Body of Christ) series are articles from these questions I have received and will be in a question-and-response format.

If you or someone you know has a question pertaining to the Word of God – theology, difficult passages, eschatology, etc. – I would really like to hear from you.

If I end up using your question, and you would like to have your name and/or place of residence listed on the question in the article, please specify with your submitted question; otherwise, if I use your question, it will be listed as “Anonymous.”

Regardless, I will make every attempt to answer every person’s question(s) in response to the emails I receive. Depending on volume, it may be a little while until you hear back from me, but my intention is to respond to all inquiries.

Other articles in this series are:

Question

Hi Mark

In Genesis, it says that Enoch “walked with God” (Genesis 5:22). Does that literally mean he spent physical time with God like Adam and Eve, or is it just a spiritual closeness? And if it was physical, why didn’t anyone else do it?

Thank you!

Jennifer – Erie, PA

Response

Hi Jennifer!

Thank you so much for this excellent question. This is a question I never really considered before, and this is why I love answering the body of Christ’s diverse questions!

On a cursory reading of this verse, one might initially think of this walking that Enoch did with God was similar to what we experience today. That is, our relationship to the Lord through prayer, reading and obeying His Word, and walking in the Spirit. But we tend to forget that the world that was then is nothing like the world we live in today.

So, let us see if we can get any idea of what this walk with God was that Enoch experienced.

To get us started, we should quickly discuss how God revealed Himself in special situations in what is known as a theophany, as found in the Tanakh (Old Testament). For those who may be unfamiliar with a theophany, here’s what I said in Melchizedek: The Mysterious One:

A theophany is a manifestation of God, often referred to in the Tanakh (Old Testament) as “the angel of the Lord” (but not always) or in human form. One example of a theophany of God in angelic form is found when Abraham was going to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:11-18), and the most obvious manifestation of God in human form was when God came to Abraham just before He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:1-33).

Many would call these theophanies Christophanies because it seems apparent that the Son of God – who would one day be manifested as man to pay for the sins of the world – is the member of the Godhead that partook of these theophanies in the Tanakh.

With this foundation, we will move on to the Antediluvian world before the global flood of Noah’s day.

Antediluvian Dispensation

As a dispensationalist, I had this to say in QFTBOC: Those Who Have Never Heard the Gospel:

God has dealt with mankind in numerous different ways down through the millennia – something we call dispensations or dispensation theology. These dispensations are generally regarded as:

Innocence – from creation to the fall of man. 2. Conscience – from the fall of man to the flood. 3. Human Government – from the flood to the call of Abraham (although this dispensation is essentially going on today, until Christ comes back). 4. Promise – from Abraham to the Law of Moses. 5. Law – from the Law of Moses until Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection, and the completion of the New Testament Scriptures. 6. Grace – from Christ’s resurrection and the completion of the New Testament Scriptures until the rapture of the church. 7. Tribulation Age – from the rapture of the church until Christ comes back at His Second Coming (though I personally do not see this as a separate dispensation from the Age of Grace, just a last call of the Age of Grace). 8. The Millennial Kingdom of Christ. 9. The Eternal Kingdom.

While this list is a generalization, others may point out different ways in which God has dealt with mankind within these dispensations. Nevertheless, the idea of dispensations is a very real and obvious theological truth.

Just a cursory look at these dispensations shows one that God has dealt with mankind differently down through the 6,000 years since creation and will continue to do so until the Eternal Kingdom.

Therefore, when it comes to the so-called “Age of Conscience” – which is the pre-flood world that Enoch lived in – when it comes to God’s dealing with mankind, we do not have much to go on. Other than the fall of Adam and Eve and the murder of Abel by Cain, we really only have what is revealed to us through the generations listed in Genesis 5 – along with the conditions of the earth and the angelic rebellion of Genesis 6 – and the narrative of Noah and his family, who found grace in the eyes of the Lord (Genesis 6:8).

In our investigation, though, we would do well to consider what we do know from the time of creation until God took Enoch.

Cain and Abel

Are there any clues to be found in Cain’s interaction with God?

“And in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the firstlings of his flock and of the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering: But unto Cain and to his offering he had not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance fell.” – Genesis 4:3-5

When it comes to our topic, where was this offering made, and was the Lord physically present?

When I examined the Hebrew, we really have nothing to offer for either question as we just see that offerings were made unto the Lord. The offerings were obviously made to the Lord, but we are not told where – though it was most assuredly in a designated location – or if the Lord was present physically.

The Hebrew word translated “respect” is a word that can be translated as gazed or looked. But where God looked from and how He looked is not known.

What we do know is that the Lord “had respect unto Abel and his offering,” but how that was relayed to the brothers, again, we do not know. It could have been by God manifesting Himself as the angel of the Lord – a Theophany (more on this below) – and consuming Abel’s offering, similar to that of Manoah and his wife in Judges 13:18-22, or by a physical presence (also a Theophany), and/or an audible voice.

What we do know, though, is that the Lord spoke unto Cain:

“And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.” – Genesis 4:6-7

Again, there’s just not enough information to confirm one way or the other exactly what God’s manifestation was like in this encounter.

“And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

“And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.

“And now art thou cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth.

“And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid; and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall slay me.

“And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should kill him. And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.” – Genesis 4:8-16

We are told that “the Lord set a mark upon Cain.” What exactly this mark was and how God set it upon Cain, we are not told.

As Jennifer pointed out in our discussion on this topic, we are told that “Cain went out from the presence of the Lord.” What exactly was this “presence”?

The Hebrew word translated as both “presence” and “face” is 6440 פָנִים “panim” or “paneh” and is a very diverse word generally defined as face or faces. This word can also mean of relations with and can indicate from a reference of position.

According to Strong’s: Plural (but always as singular) of an unused noun (paneh {paw-neh’}; from panah); the face (as the part that turns); used in a great variety of applications (literally and figuratively); also (with prepositional prefix) as a preposition (before, etc.) — + accept, a-(be-)fore(-time), against, anger, X as (long as), at, + battle, + because (of), + beseech, countenance, edge, + employ, endure, + enquire, face, favour, fear of, for, forefront(-part), form(-er time, -ward), from, front, heaviness, X him(-self), + honourable, + impudent, + in, it, look(-eth) (- s), X me, + meet, X more than, mouth, of, off, (of) old (time), X on, open, + out of, over against, the partial, person, + please, presence, propect, was purposed, by reason of, + regard, right forth, + serve, X shewbread, sight, state, straight, + street, X thee, X them(-selves), through (+ – out), till, time(-s) past, (un-)to(-ward), + upon, upside (+ down), with(- in, + -stand), X ye, X you.

We should note that it was God who initiated the conversation with Cain. For obvious reasons, Cain evidently had no interest in seeking God for his crime against his brother.

So, we are left with a few possibilities and/or a combination of possibilities on this.

God was in physical contact with Cain, and Cain was sent away from the family community by God from that location where God communicated with the family.
God was communicating with Cain audibly and was sent away from God’s audible presence and the family community.
There was a certain location near the family community where God met with His people on special days, either physically and/or audibly, and God sent Cain away from the family community and from His presence on these special occasions.
God did not have much communication with the first family, either audibly or physically, but this was an important event – the first murder – and warranted direct communication and banishment from the family unit and the presence of God’s limited engagement with that family (other than when a sacrifice was offered).

Again, it could be any one of these possibilities or a combination, or maybe even something we have not considered.

Obviously, God’s Spirit is omnipresent, but there does seem to have been a special location near to where the first family resided where God’s physical and/or audible presence could, on occasion, be seen and/or heard. How often, we, again, do not know.

Seth and Calling Upon the Lord

Can we ascertain anything helpful in our study’s objective regarding men and women “calling upon the Name of the Lord”?

“And to Seth, to him also there was born a son; and he called his name Enos: then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” – Genesis 4:26

When I began to investigate the Hebrew on this verse, I was a little more than surprised at what I discovered.

The Hebrew word translated “began” is 2490 חָלַל “chalal” and has a seemingly wide array of definitions.

According to Strong’s: bore, pierce, begin, men began, defile, break, eat as common things. A primitive root (compare chalah); properly, to bore, i.e. (by implication) to wound, to dissolve; figuratively, to profane (a person, place or thing), to break (one’s word), to begin (as if by an “opening wedge”); denom. (from chaliyl) to play (the flute) — begin (X men began), defile, X break, defile, X eat (as common things), X first, X gather the grape thereof, X take inheritance, pipe, player on instruments, pollute, (cast as) profane (self), prostitute, slay (slain), sorrow, stain, wound.

Interestingly, this word is translated as “profane” in Leviticus 19:12, where God says, “neither shall thou profane the Name of thy God.”

Therefore, this verse could be rendered, “… then men profaned to call on the Name of the Lord.” The structure gives an impression of ignoring, refusing, cursing, profaning, or taking the Name of the Lord God in vain – what would be known in Moses’ day as a violation of the third commandment!

In fact, the International Standard Version does translate this verse in just this way.

“Seth also fathered a son, whom he named Enosh. At that time, profaning the name of the Lord began.” – International Standard Version

Now, other than Cain, it would certainly seem logical that the very earliest of the progeny from Adam and Eve would have been worshipping the Lord. So, it seems a little strange – at least to me – that people would finally start calling on the Name of the Lord after Enos, or Enosh, was born to Seth. Since no one other than Noah, his wife, their three sons and their wives survived the flood, it seems that many of the family lines could have quickly corrupted themselves.

On the other hand – if the translation of “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord” is correct – we may have a situation where God, up to this point, was meeting with the people in some regular capacity and then abruptly stopped for some unstated reason. Because of this possibility, then men would have no other option but to “call upon the name of the Lord” through prayer and sacrifice only.

What do I make of all of this? Wow, I am not really sure. But it is interesting!

But, for the sake of this survey, let us consider the usual rendering of “then began men to call upon the name of the Lord.” What, if anything, can we conclude from this statement? How did God respond to this calling upon His Name?

We should note that Abraham “called upon the Name of the Lord” in Genesis 12:8, 13:4, and 21:33, and Isaac “called upon the name of the Lord” in Genesis 26:25. But other than building alters, we really do not have any indication what exactly this entailed other than naturally assuming that prayer and sacrifice were involved.

Again, other than looking into other passages of Scripture that communicate to us this time in history – as we have been and are doing – we just do not have enough information to conclude anything emphatically up to this point.

Noah Also Walked with God

“Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God.” – Genesis 6:9b

We do know from the text that Noah had conversations with God, but, as with all the other situations, we just do not know how these conversations came about – whether verbal only or physical one-on-one communication.

The Lord God Walking in the Garden and Enoch Walking with God

From the following verse, we tend to think of God walking with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden in a state of daily fellowship until the fall. While we do not know for certain if this was truly the case, it seems more than reasonable since “all things were created by Him, and for Him” (Colossians 1:16).

“And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden.” – Genesis 3:8 (emphasis mine)

Let us see if we can link the phrase “walking in the garden in the cool of the day” in Genesis 3:8 to Enoch as he “walked with God.”

“And Enoch lived sixty and five years, and begat Methuselah: And Enoch walked with God after he begat Methuselah three hundred years, and begat sons and daughters: And all the days of Enoch were three hundred sixty and five years: And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” – Genesis 5:22-24 (emphasis mine)

In every passage we have looked at, the Hebrew word translated “walking” and “walked” is 1980 הָלַךְ “halak” and means to go, come, walk.

According to Strong’s: Akin to yalak; a primitive root; to walk (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively) — (all) along, apace, behave (self), come, (on) continually, be conversant, depart, + be eased, enter, exercise (self), + follow, forth, forward, get, go (about, abroad, along, away, forward, on, out, up and down), + greater, grow, be wont to haunt, lead, march, X more and more, move (self), needs, on, pass (away), be at the point, quite, run (along), + send, speedily, spread, still, surely, + tale-bearer, + travel(-ler), walk (abroad, on, to and fro, up and down, to places), wander, wax, (way-)faring man, X be weak, whirl.

This word is used 1,549 times in the Tanakh (Old Testament) and translated in a myriad of ways. Interestingly, it is used to describe the flowing of the Tigris (Hiddekel) “which goeth toward” the east of Assyria in Genesis 2:14, when the waters of the flood returned from off the earth “continually” in Genesis 8:3, and when Abram journeyed, “going on” still toward the north in Genesis 12:9, amongst other unique usages.

So, while we can see that both the account of God walking in the Garden of Eden and Enoch walking with God use the same Hebrew word, we cannot definitively say whether Enoch was literally walking physically with the LORD.

But since God worked in a much different fashion than He does today, and we know that at least the Lord directly communicated with His people – namely visibly and/or audibly – it certainly is not out of the realm of possibility that Enoch might have had the privileged opportunity to physically commune with our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

Enoch’s Theophany?

When it comes to what Enoch may have experienced through his theophany with Christ – if he indeed had one – it seems we could add to our speculation by applying other Saint’s encounters with God in the Scriptures.

As we noted, Adam and Eve had some kind of special physical fellowship and presence with the LORD in the Garden of Eden, though we are not given many details. We do see that they had intimate conversations just from the interaction between the three after the fall.

We see this intimate conversational interaction much later when the Lord and His two angels taking human form visited Abraham before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, as noted above. Abraham even felt comfortable enough to question the Lord – repeatedly!

Even with a rebel like Cain – though we do not know if God showed up in a theophany or this exchange was entirely audible – the Lord showed His concern for what Cain was going through, though Cain made his own choice to ultimately become the first spiritual seed of Satan (1 John 3:12).

Conclusion

As we come to our conclusion, I wanted to thank Jennifer for her great question that took us on a rather interesting journey. I enjoyed the exercise even if we did not come to an emphatic conclusion one way or the other.

I am almost pleased that we were unable to come to a definitive answer to this question. In a way, it is kind of nice to think of Enoch “walking with God” by communing with our Creator through his thoughts and prayers to Him as we do today. On the other hand, it would be pretty cool if Enoch had the pleasure of literally “walking with God” physically. After all, isn’t this what we all desperately desire in our own hearts, to finally be in the physical presence of our Lord and Savior!?!

An interesting closing thought on this subject is that the first time that God “appeared” to anyone is when God appeared to Abram:

“And the Lord appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the Lord, who appeared unto him.” – Genesis 12:7

Obviously, Adam and Eve had a personal fellowship with the Lord as He walked in the Garden and talked with them, but this was before the fall.

While God’s “appearing” to Abraham in Genesis 12:7 should in no way exempt the possibility of Enoch physically walking with God much earlier, it is rather unique that God’s first noted “appearance” (Hebrew 7200 רָאָה “raah“) in Scripture was to Abram many years after the flood.

“And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him.” – Genesis 5:24

“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God.” – Hebrews 11:5

For nearly 2,000 years, men and women who have given their lives to Christ have been eagerly desiring that their testimony would be like that of Enoch’s: that the Lord saw them as men and women who “walked with, and pleased God.”

In addition – and just like Enoch – these same precious Saints have looked to their “blessed hope,” Jesus Christ, that He would take them in the rapture of the church so they could be the generation that proclaims, “We were on the earth, then we were not, for God took us!”

May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”

Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!

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